2_Buffalo Bills2

Pittsburgh Steelers Gameday HQ

played MLB over the past four seasons in New England. He
started 39 regular season games and appeared in six postseason
games, including Super Bowl XLVI.
Bills Special Teams
The Buffalo Bills signed kicker Dan Carpenter after he was
cut by the Miami Dolphins before the season and were rewarded
with the best year of the veteran kicker’s career. Carpenter made
91.7 percent of
his field goals and
finished the season
by converting
29 straight from
inside 50-yards.
Brian Moorman
has spent much of
his career with the
Bills, but things
have been rocky
recently. He was
released in 2012
but brought back
in 2013 to replace
his successor.
Moorman finished
the season with one
of the worst average
yards per punt of
his career, but he has out-kicked his training camp competition to
keep a spot on the team, for now.
The Bills return game also struggled last year. Both their
kick and punt return teams were ranked near the bottom of
the league. Leodis McKelvin and Marquise Goodwin shared the
duties, but the Bills will be on the lookout for other options.
Prediction
The Buffalo Bills are talented, but they’ve finished under .500
for nine consecutive years. If EJ Manuel can stay healthy, they
have the ability to surprise some teams. In a crowded AFC, it will
likely take another year before the Bills can consider themselves
a legitimate threat to the better teams in the league.
SCOREBOARD
2013 2012 2011 2010 2009
PLAYOFF FINISH - - - - -
REGULAR SEASON W-L 6-10 6-10 6-10 4-12 6-10
POINTS PER GAME 21.2 21.5 23.2 17.7 16.1
POINTS ALLOWED PER GAME 24.2 27.2 27.1 26.6 20.4
YARDS PER GAME 338.1 342.9 351.5 304.9 273.9
YARDS ALLOWED PER GAME 333.4 362.9 371.1 361.6 340.6
TURNOVERS 26 33 30 35 26
TAKEAWAYS 29 21 31 22 33
Key Additions:
LB Brandon Spikes, G Chris Williams
Key Subtractions:
WR Stevie Johnson, FS Jairus Byrd, S Jim Leonhard
Rookies:
WR Sammy Watkins, OL Cyrus Kouandjio, LB Preston Brown
Mario Williams & Marcell Dareus
GEORGE GOJKOVICH/GETTY IMAGES SPORT
All three return to make up one of the most disruptive defensive
units in the league.
Jerry Hughes added even more pressure from his linebacker
position with ten sacks of his own. And in order to sure up
their run defense, the Bills signed thumping middle linebacker
Brandon Spikes off of the rival New England Patriots.
The Bills hoped to pair Spikes in the interior with Kiko
Alonso, the team’s most promising young defender. Alonso led
the team in tackles last season and finished second in Rookie of
the Year voting, but he tore his ACL in preseason mini camp and
faces an entire year of rehabilitation.
Some of the pressure to replace Alonso will also fall on former
New York Giants linebacker Keith Rivers, who signed a two-year
contract in the offseason. Rookie Preston Brown could also work
his way into the vacancy caused by Alonso’s injury.
The defensive secondary is a point of strength, even with
the loss of Pro Bowl safety Jairus Byrd, who signed a six-year
contract with the New Orleans Saints.
Stephon Gilmore and Leodis McKelvin give the Bills an
extremely talented pair of cornerbacks, but both guys will be
worked back into action slowly after offseason hip surgeries.
Gilmore also struggled with injuries early last season, but he
came on strong in the final half of his sophomore season.
Byrd and safety Jim Leonhard combined for eight
interceptions, but neither will be with the team in 2014. Aaron
Williams had four INTs of his own and played all over the
secondary. This season, he should settle in nicely at strong
safety. Da’Norris Searcy also saw a good amount of playing time
at safety and impressed with a 32-yard pick-six and a 74-yard
fumble recovery for a touchdown.
Defensive Player to Watch
Middle linebacker Brandon Spikes will not get the glory
that comes with sacking the quarterback like many of his new
teammates, but Spikes will be the key to making the Bills defense
more competitive in 2014.
Spikes is a sorely needed thumper in the middle of the
formation that will improve upon a defense that ranked 28th
against the run. This need was further exasperated by the loss of
linebacker Kiko Alonso to an ACL tear.
On top of stopping the run, Spikes will add a veteran presence
with plenty of experience winning at the NFL level. Spikes